On a personal note, my partner of nine years and I got engaged last week! I see a lot of storybook “engagement stories” in the blogosphere, but there’s no epic fairy tale here. Not the moment of betrothal itself, anyway. Just a regular Thursday morning, getting ready for work. We rush past one another a handful of times, in and out of the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen between showers, dog and dress. I knew I was running about 5.5 minutes late that day, which is why I got a little flustered when I dropped and lost a bobby pin. Rocky was there all of a sudden saying, “here I have it” and when I reached out my hand, he dropped a ring in it! The subsequent proposal and my eloquent reply, “are you serious?!” followed suit.

Rocky and I are planning a wedding celebration in Calistoga this fall, the details (and invitations!) for which I will be sure to keep you posted on. In the meantime, we are over the moon!